Monday, January 03, 2011

An example: say I’d never seen the film ‘Top Gun’ or ‘Minority Report’ or ‘Mission Impossible’, I’d never seen a photo of Tom Cruise, never heard his voice and I’d never read about him. But you are determined to tell me that Tom Cruise does exist, he is alive and he is famous.

If I choose I can sit in my house and say ‘in 22 years Tom Cruise has never knocked on my front door, he’s never called me, and I’ve never bumped into him on the street, therefore he must not exist.’ However if I simply take the time to google Tom Cruise, or to pop into my local Blockbuster film rental or even pick up a newspaper, it would not take long to realise that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Tom Cruise is real, even if I never see him in person.

Unless I make that little effort, I will never discover the truth. Similarly, unless you open your heart and mind to the possibility that God might be real and may want to speak to you personally you will never discover Him. Give Him a chance, give Him some time - a first date or a first meeting can be very awkward and slow, sometimes even embarrassing, God is complicated and difficult to understand, but given the time to get to know Him, He can make your life better than you ever imagined, in a very real, one-to-one dynamic.

God can speak to us in a number of different ways. If you have a question, or a problem that you need God’s help with He wants to offer you guidance. If you’re open and believe that He can help you, He won’t hide away. Sometimes it might be just in advice from a friend or something you read, or an opportunity that presents itself that you weren’t expecting. And sometimes, God chooses to make more of a one-to-one contact with us. It’s not magic, it’s not like being psychic, and it’s not a trick. When you have asked God into your life He is always with you, so it makes sense that He would want to talk to you. Some people feel a deep peace, or an ‘inkling’ in the right direction, sometimes some people hear words in their imagination, but more commonly for me, God sends a picture. (From Paul)